Austin’s Home Prices are Soaring but Current Land Code Makes Homes Unaffordable

Austin’s home prices continue to sky-rocket.

The rapid rise of home prices is outpacing income growth for Austinites. In the past five years, Austin-Round Rock median family income increased 17.5 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, while median homes prices increased 42.5 percent, according to ABOR.

Escalating home prices within Austin city limits continue to push homebuyers into the suburbs, such as Pflugerville, Del Valle and Manor. Last month 7 in 10 homes sold were sold outside of Austin city limits, ABOR found.

Austin has reached a new high for home prices just when Austin City Council is in the midst of debating whether to adopt an updated land development code through the CodeNEXT process. An updated code has the potential to ease housing affordability pressures by allowing a wider variety of homes along corridors and in transition zones while streamlining development regulations.

Here are some other key stats from May’s monthly housing report:

• Overall in the Austin Round Rock area, the median price of a single-family home increased to $325,000, up from $310,000 in May 2017.

• Home sales in the Austin-Round Rock area hit 3,210 sales in May compared to 3,080 sales a year earlier.

• It would takeonly two months to sell all of the homes currently listed in Austin at the current rate. A balanced market typically would have at least six months of supply.